Posted on: January 23, 2018

Iranian Artist Spotlight

Asghar Farhadi: Writer and Director

Farhadi was born in Homayoon Shahr, near Isfahan. He is a graduate from the University of Tehran theatre programs, with a BA in Dramatic Arts. He then received a MA in Stage Direction from Tarbiat Modares University. Farhadi made short films in the Isfahan branch of the Iranian Young Cinema Society.

Between 1998 and 2009 he directed many TV shows and wrote 8 films, directing 4 of them.

His films look at the microcosms of modern Iran and the complications that come up, especially when it comes to class and gender differences.

In 2011 Asghar Farhadi wrote and directed the film A Separation. The film is about a middle-class Iranian couple who separate and the problems that arise with their daughter and around their lives.

This film earned Farhadi best film at several festivals including the Berlin International film festival.

On 26 February 2012, A Separation became the first Iranian movie to win an Oscar for the best foreign language film at the 84th edition of the Academy Awards. This marked Farhadi as the first Iranian to have won an Academy Award in any of the competitive categories. He was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2012 along with 175 other individuals.

In 2013 his film, The Past, gained recognition by several film festivals, including competing in Cannes Film Festival.

In 2017 Farhadi directed his 7th feature (11th he’s written), The Salesman. For this film, Farhadi won his second Academy Award for best foreign language film. Farhadi, however, boycotted the event in solidarity following an executive order banning citizens of Iran and other nations from entering the country. He had two prominent Iranian Americans, Anousheh Ansari, the first Iranian in space, and Firouz Naderi, the director of Solar System Exploration, to representing him in the ceremony.

He is currently working on another film featuring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz.